Skim down through the list of centennial projects that will help paint buildings, repair trails, restore fisheries, help giant sequoias thrive, involve youth in the parks, and you have to give thanks to park friends groups. Corporate America? Not so much.

Top Interior Department and National Park Service officials used Earth Day to promote the National Park System as an economic engine with an annual output of $30 billion and which serves as a carbon sink with an additional value of nearly $600 million.

In the late 1700s when Daniel Boone came through the Cumberland Gap and into the land that would eventually become the state of Kentucky, black bears were common and brought the respect of settlers coming through. Today at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park staff is working to see that today's visitors to this landscape continue to respect the bears.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will hold its 11th annual “Music of the Mountains” celebration April 17-19 with a mix of music that harkens to the "Old-Time" music that long has reverberated through the mountains.

"Find Your Park," the marketing campaign tied to the celebration of the National Park Service's 100th birthday, is being rolled out from coast-to-coast this week as individual parks invite you to not only connect with your favorite national park unit but also relate your favorite stories about that park.